Dixon Heads Strong Honda Effort on “Carb Day” at Indianapolis

#9: Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
  • Scott Dixon posts second-fastest run in final practice prior to the Indianapolis 500
  • Alexander Rossi, Takuma Sato also fast as Honda drivers claim seven of top ten speeds
  • 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 takes place Sunday

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (August 21, 2020) – Five-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and current points leader Scott Dixon led the way for Honda today in the traditional “Carb Day” final practice session prior to Sunday’s Indianapolis 500.

The final practice prior to Sunday’s running of the 104th Indianapolis 500 saw Dixon post the second-fastest lap speed of 224.646 mph, just one tenth of a second off today’s quickest driver, Pato O’Ward.

Alexander Rossi and Takuma Sato made it three Honda drivers in the top four of the speed charts today.

Zach Veach ran sixth fastest in today’s two-hour practice session, with fellow Honda drivers Marcus Ericsson eighth, Jack Harvey ninth and rookie Alex Palou rounding out the top 10.

Honda Racing social media content and videos from practice and qualifying from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is available on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and on Twitter at (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD).  Produced by the CoForce Digital Media, YouTube video packages can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.  

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The 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 takes place on Sunday, August 23, with live television coverage on NBC starting with pre-race festivities at 1 p.m. EDT.

Quote

Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Second fastest today: “We had to go through our front wings [primary and spares] today, just to make sure they’re all close in case we need [a spare] in the race. The #9 PNC Bank Honda felt really good and really fast. It pulls up [to other cars] wicked fast. Hopefully that’s true when it comes to the race! It definitely looks like there are some good cars out there – and some not so good cars. I think there has always been, especially these last few years, an underlying tone of ‘it’s hard to pass’. This year [passing] has been a lot easier for us. I think a lot of credit goes out to HPD and Honda. We’re proud to be powered by them. They have done a lot to help that, and I think we’ve made a lot of changes on the team and the car that’s helped that as well. It’s good to see.”

Indianapolis 500 “Carb Day” Final Practice

Circuit:               Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile oval), Indianapolis, IN

2019 Winner:    Simon Pagenaud (Team Penske) 175.794 mph average

Weather:           Sunny, mild, 73 degrees F

Indianapolis 500 “Fast Friday” Top-10 Results:

Ps.Driver      TeamManufacturerBest SpeedNotes
  2.Pato O’Ward-RArrow McLaren SPChevrolet225.355 
  2.Scott DixonChip Ganassi RacingHonda224.646+0.1262 sec
  3.Alexander RossiAndretti AutosportHonda224.599 
  4.Takuma SatoRahal Letterman LaniganHonda224.580 
  5.Oliver Askew-RArrow McLaren SPChevrolet224.128 
  6.Zach VeachAndretti AutosportHonda223.957 
  7.Josef NewgardenTeam PenskeChevrolet223.764 
  8.Marcus EricssonChip Ganassi Racing Honda223.700 
  9.Jack HarveyMeyer Shank RacingHonda223.641 
10.Alex Palou-RDCR with Team Goh               Honda223.570 

Other Honda Results

12.James HinchcliffeAndretti Autosport Honda223.461 
13.Colton HertaAndretti Harding AutosportHonda223.433 
21.Santino FerrucciDCR with Vasser-Sullivan     Honda222.806 
22.Ryan Hunter-ReayAndretti AutosportHonda222.731 
25.Graham RahalRahal Letterman LaniganHonda222.158 
26.Spencer PigotRLL with Citrone/Buhl AutosportHonda221.789 
27.Felix RosenqvistChip Ganassi Racing            Honda221.675 
28.Marco AndrettiAndretti Herta AutosportHonda221.314 
29.James DavisonDCR with Ware/Byrd/BelardiHonda220.889